State confirms 27 cases of salmonella linked to tomatoes

June 12, 2008|By Lolly Bowean, TRIBUNE REPORTER and Tribune reporters Gerry Smith and Jeff Long contributed to this report.

More than two dozen people in the Chicago region have tested positive for salmonella most likely due to eating contaminated tomatoes, officials with state and local health departments said Wednesday.

And now that recent nationwide health warnings have increased awareness of the disease, more residents are expected to report symptoms, said Vic Reato, a spokesman for the Will County Health Department. Although the state reported two cases in Will County, four residents have tested positive for salmonella, Reato said.

"Typically, this is an under-reported disease," Reato said. "People think they have a stomach flu, and they don't ever report their case. There is no question that there are more than 170 cases nationally, so people should be aware of the problem."

The Illinois Department of Public Health said 27 cases of salmonella, including five hospitalizations, have been officially confirmed in the state, but the statistics keep growing.

"The numbers are fluid as we hear of possible new cases," said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Last week, federal officials announced that a 17-state salmonella outbreak was connected to three types of raw tomatoes: red plum, red Roma and round red. As a result of the health alert, thousands of restaurants, groceries and food retailers have pulled tomatoes from their shelves and menu items.

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that lives in the intestinal tract and is generally contracted by humans when they consume animal feces in food. The infection is capable of producing acute illness in children and people with weakened immunity.

This particular outbreak of salmonella is an uncommon strain, which is how officials can link it with the contaminated tomatoes, Reato said. People infected with the disease usually have fever, diarrhea and stomach cramps.

In suburban Cook County, seven cases of Salmonella Saintpaul, the strain connected to contaminated tomatoes, have been reported to the Department of Public Health. One case was reported in Kane County, officials there said. Twelve adults in Chicago, three people in DuPage County and two people in Lake County have been diagnosed, Arnold said.

No cases connected to tomatoes have been reported in McHenry County, officials said.

The Will County cases range in age from 11 to 46, and they are from Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Lockport and a small portion of Aurora that is in Will County. The first case was diagnosed in late April, Reato said, and the most recent was discovered Monday.

But Reato could not give specifics on how the patients realized they contracted the disease or what kind of tomato they ate before they got sick.

"Hand washing is the single most important thing we can do to protect our health," Reato said. "No matter what type of food product it is, it's important that we wash our hands."